The present invention relates to pest control, and more particularly to monitoring termite activity proximate and especially under building structures.
Termite infestation and damage is a continuing problem in buildings having wood structure. Traditionally, the structures are inspected only infrequently, such as in connection with a sale, at which time considerable damage may have been done, with expensive repairs being required. Termite infestation and damage is generally not readily apparent, and partial dismantling of building structures in order to locate possible infestation has to be weighed against the damage done by such dismantling and the cost of restoration. Even professional inspections are not always effective with respect to inaccessible structure.
Accordingly, various non-invasive devices have been developed for detecting termite activity, such devices being implanted in the ground around and/or under homes or other building structures. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,726 to Thorne et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,496 to Woodruff disclose ground-implantable devices for detecting termite activity, the devices having a perforate outer housing for permanent ground implantation, and a removable perforate cartridge having bait therein. The cartridge is removed and visually inspected for detection of termite activity. These devices of the prior art exhibit a number of disadvantages; for example:                1. They are ineffective in that active termite infestations may be ignored because:                    a. the unit does not get proper inspections;            b. the original placement of the unit is difficult to determine;            c. an aggressive termite colony was not identified early; and                        2. They are difficult to install and monitor, especially when implanted in crawl space under structures.        
Thus there is a need for a device that facilitates detection and monitoring of infestation of soil environments of building structures by destructive organisms, that is both effective and easy to use, and that is inexpensive to provide.